pianoman

My wife's niece is going crazy over the New, Chinese I think, "Retro" look bikes...  They seem to sell for about 30,000 baht, which seems cheap but are cute looking for a young girl...

Anyone familiar with them or have any informed opinions regarding their quality, service and use???

Pianoman

My wife's 21 year old son has been into drinking and partying way too much, and recently tried Yaba with bad effects when coming down from it...

She wants him to spend some time in a Wat to aid his transition from "Boy to Man" and hopefully realise that there is more to life than just partying...  We have ruled out their small village Wat, as this village where most of the "Partying" takes place, and where his friends are all living...  We live in a larger city about 30km away from the village..

Any information, suggestions or comments will be apprciated, as I know very little regarding Wat stays, how long they stay, what is asked of them while there, costs involved, etc...

Pianoman

Where did all these people come from????
Now that the New Lotus in Kalasin is open and going, and you would think that the excitement of a new retail outlet has subsided, Where did all these people come from???

I find it hard to beleive that either Roi Et or Khon Kaen were getting this many people from Kalasin shopping in their areas, but I have never seen this many people shopping in Kalasin before...  Plus if you take away the amount of shoppers I see in Kalasin Lotus from the normal amount seen at say Roi Et Lotus, the Roi Et Lotus must be almost empty, which we all know is not the case...  But where did all of these people come from??

After living here almost continually for the past 10 years, I am now seeing many Farang faces that I have never seen before around town, and many seem to be "Residents" rather than the usual "Visitors" that I am use to when seeing a new Farang face...  Did the New Lotus just bring them out of the woodwork / villages????

Pianoman

My wife's son has a small business selling those little baskets that they steam / cook small fish in...  The area / villages where he normally purchases them are sometimes either out of or they are in very short supply...  He was told that there are villages around Fao Rai that also make and sell them, and I would like to know if any Farangs up in that area might know about such...

Thank you in advance for any help / suggestions anyone might offer...

Pianoman

I am just in the beginning process of applying for U.S. Soc. Sec. Benefits thru their Office in Manilia, Phillippines, and was told that I can have the monthly amount direct deposited into a Bangkok Bank Account thru their Office / Branch in New York City....

I would like to know if others have been receiving their benefits this way, and at what point the U.S. Dollars are exchanged to Thai Baht...  Obviously trying to avoid the "Off Shore" exchange rates...   Also want to make sure that there is not any delays in the funds being credited to the account here in Thailand...

Pianoman